Performance of a cleaning product, for use in washing or cleaning method, is judged by a number of factors, including the ability to remove soils, and the ability to prevent the redeposition of the soils, or the breakdown products of the soils on the articles in the wash.
The complex nature of everyday "body" soils typically found on pillow cases, T-shirts, collars and socks, provides a continuous thorough cleaning challenge for detergents. These soils are difficult to remove completely and often residues build up on fabric leading to dinginess and yellowing. Body soils are a complex mixture of organic and inorganic components excreted by the human body. They contain hydrophobic unsaturated organic compounds difficult to remove with normal detergents. For example the epidermal secretion of humans can contain up to 35% of this hydrophobic unsaturated compounds such as long chain paraffinic hydrocarbons (up to 3%), squalene (up to 12%), C26-42 wax esters (up to 16%) and heterocyclic and polycyclic organic compounds such as cholesterol and its derivatives (total up to 6%). These hydrophobic organic compounds tend to accumulate on the fabric causing yellowing and dinginess and enhancement of the soil-ability of the fabric. Everyday body soils are also found on sanitary and kitchen surfaces such as bathtubs, toilet bowl and dishware.
The items can be fabrics, hard surfaces, dishware such as plasticware, glassware or chinaware.
Traditionally, enzymes, surfactants, builders and/or high levels of bleaching compounds, optionally with bleach precursors and/or bleach enhancers, are incorporated in detergent compositions. Bleaching agents are compounds which are precursors of hydrogen peroxide which is formed in the course of the washing procedure. Perborates and percarbonates are the most important examples of such hydrogen peroxide precursors.
In view of the above, there exits clearly a continuous need to provide detergent compositions which have an excellent detergency performance. Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning composition which provides effective and efficient cleaning body soils. It is a further object to provide a cleaning composition which provides fabric realistic items cleaning and whitening.
The above objective has been met by formulating detergent compositions comprising an oxygenase directed to body soils.
It has been surprisingly found an enzymatic bleach system based on an oxygenase directed to body soils, delivers in a detergent composition, bleach-like benefits in an unexpected broad range of performance areas such as dingy cleaning, whiteness maintenance and stain removal. It has also been found that the detergent compositions of the present invention provide sanitisation of the treated surfaces.
It has been further found that the performance of the detergent compositions of the present invention is improved by the addition of another enzymatic bleach system, a conventional activated bleach system, a metallo catalyst based bleach system and/or another detergent enzyme.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention relates to a laundry composition comprising an oxygenase directed to body soils, further providing fabric realistic items cleaning and whitening. In a second embodiment, the present invention relates to dishwashing or household cleaning compositions comprising an oxygenase directed to body soils.
The use of an oxygenase directed to body soils in a detergent composition for substantive removal of everyday body soils and sanitisation, has never been previously recognised. Nor have been recognised the substantive fabric realistic items cleaning and whitening performance when the oxygenase directed to body soils, is used within a laundry detergent composition.